Summer of Nicolas Cage Movie #10: Vampire's Kiss

Plot: A guy who works at a publishing company is bitten by a vampire woman and then gradually turns into a vampire himself. Or does he? Can his psychologist help him in time or is the poor guy doomed?

What's with Nic Cage's inconsistent accent in this movie? Is he supposed to be English? Whose idea was it to have his character talk with an accent? That's your first thought as you watch Vampire's Kiss, a movie that features a Nicolas Cage performance that might be second only to Deadfall in a Wacky Cage Performance competition. If you haven't seen Deadfall yet, by the way, check it out immediately. Vampire's Kiss is stuffed with Nicolas Cage moments. Observe and be aware that there are probably numerous spoilers:

At the 4:04 mark, you get to see Cage put some moves on a floozy while Stevie Wonder looks on.6:08--He drunkenly removes a coat and throws it as only Nicolas Cage can throw a coat.7:00--Dress shoes with no socks, Nic? Classy!7:34--Cage says, "Shoo! Shoo!" followed by one of the greatest man vs. bat scenes you will ever see in a movie. This is the point in the movie when I got my first boner.8:04--The way Cage flicks his hair back here. Movie magic!8:19--Cage demonstrates that he can't laugh like a normal person. At 8:28, he repeats the exact same laugh.10:01--Cage changes his accent three or four times in one monologue. Let's see Jimmy Stewart do that!13:03--"Holy shit."13:24--Cage's character admits to his psychologist that he was aroused by the bat that entered his apartment. It makes me feel better about being aroused by the scene.15:06--Cage checks himself out in a mirror (the first of many mirror scenes) while the soundtrack to every single 80's movie plays in the background.16:33--Cage puts the moves on another lady, showing off that irresistible Coppola charm. With the accent!18:38--Some scatting--"Digga digga digga digga duh duh duh." Awesome.19:37--"I gotta take a piss." It might be all about the context here, but this line made me crack up.20:32--We hear Cage's character's answering machine message. It reveals that he can't even make something like that sound normal. It's not the answering machine message of a human being. It's one of a god.21:13--"Yeah, well fuck you too, sister!" This is how I want to end all of my conversations.21:55-22:48--Possibly the best dialogue in the history of film, mostly about how "drunk and horny" Cage's character was.23:32--"Tuesday!" Again, it's all about the context. Poor Alva, by the way.25:09--A big Nicolas Cage point! If you saw it, you'd recognize it from a few other movies. And with it, a classic Nicolas Cage delivered line: "Am I getting through to you. . . Alva?!"26:05--"Fucking grease hole!"26:18--Cage's character is in pain. What's the best way to show that? A rapid biting motion.26:35--Just when you're wondering if this movie can get any better, it adds mimes. Freakin' mimes!30:36--Cage's character is nervous and frightened. What's the best way to show that? Rapid head nodding and slamming.31:56--Close your mouth, Nicolas Cage!32:36--He develops a speech impediment. Alva! Maybe the whole accent thing is actually supposed to be a speech impediment, too.33:10: A hop on a desk and another point. Two Nicolas Cage points in less than twenty minutes? I'm surprised the world didn't end.33:34--Old lady in bathroom. "What are you doing in here?" What a cameo! Helen Lloyd Breed, you just might win yourself a shane-movies blog award at the end of the year for that work.35:09--Weren't sure about whether Nicolas Cage could laugh normally before? Here's more evidence that he can't.35:55--Another fight scene, this time with paper. Man vs. paper!36:24--The fight continues with everything else in his apartment. Man vs. stuff in his apartment!39:46--I know I've said this a lot before, but here is truly the greatest dialogue ever written, ending in Cage's infamous recitation of the ABC's. No other actor in Hollywood, living or dead, could do this. This scene alone is all the proof you need that Nicolas Cage is the greatest actor of all time.40:06--"I never misfiled anything! Not once! Not one time!" Again, it's all about the context, but the way he crosses his arms and then quickly puts his hands on his hips, it's probably a plot-hole that his character wasn't institutionalized right away. Cage is so good with over-the-top mannerisms.41:38--Mescaline? Geez.43:45--Pause the movie here! Gaze into Nicolas Cage's crazy eyes and completely lose your mind! You will never recover. Never! By the time you push play again, you will also be a vampire.47:00--You get to watch a bit of another vampire classic, Nosferatu. Keep Max Shreck's movements and body language in mind because it'll make Nic's imitation of him later that much sweeter.48:28--More scatting and an invitation into Cage's shower. It seems like the scatting would scare most females away.48:59--More mirror action with a great Nicolas Cage expression as he touches the glass.49:30--Nicolas Cage eats a live cockroach. Ho hum.51:19--Exaggerated whistling during a search through a Rolodex.52:00--I required a break and took a long nap. When I woke up, the moon was gone and it was Tuesday! And a tumor on my back had tripled in size! I do not think this was a coincidence!55:40--Worst fake puking I think I've ever seen, more golden because it follows some unintelligible yelping.1:00:03--No reflection! Now we know why those other weird mirror shots were there. This movie is genius! "Oh Christ! Oh Christ! Oh, God! Where am I? Where am I?" This piece of brilliance is punctuated with the words of a disgruntled guy trying to take a dump. Movie magic!1:00:58--Surely this movie can't get better, can it? Now Nic is doing this weird hiccup thing and holding his arms like he's a bunny.1:03:23--Head bobbin' and the lamest chase scene down a stairwell that I've ever seen.1:04:30--I'm laughing at a rape threat! This movie has turned me inside-out. But it was a rape threat made with a wagging tongue.1:04:45--Another big fight scene, this time demonstrating the inner conflict going on with Cage's character. He begins slapping himself. That's right--man vs. his own palm. There will be no winner.1:06:08--Ba-hoo! And in case you missed the genius of the Ba-hoo! the first time, Cage repeats the Ba-hoo! at 1:06:14. I pause the movie to Ba-hoo! a few times myself. I become one with Nicolas Cage and the cosmos smiles down upon me.1:06:49--"I'm a vampire! I'm a vampire! I'm a vampire!" It's hard for me to believe that there are some people who will watch this movie and not realize it's a comedy.1:07:01--More home destruction.1:09:30--Nic Cage attempts to eat a pillow.1:10:38--A phone freak-out. And a Nicolas Cage freak-out is always worth watching, probably twice.1:11:38--I missed a portion of this scene where Cage's character buys some vampire costume teeth because I had fallen to the floor, drooling. It ends with a classically comic "I will take the plastic" that is hilarious in context. There's a great skipping-alternating-with-jogging thing that makes me giggle.1:12:35--Now he's talking with inserted plastic teeth and that silly accent? Did this movie just get even more magical? Hell yes, it did!1:13:49--Bird chase!1:17:45--And now we have Nosferatu at the discotheque.1:24:02--Nosferatu freaks out at the discotheque! "I'm a vampire. I can prove it!"1:24:57--There's a rambling, likely improvised monologue that is mostly about the sun but for whatever reason contains the line "She's just a high school cunt." Then, the sun!1:26:52--Cage flamboyantly finds himself a stake and tries to have somebody kill him.1:27:24--I swear to God that I'm not making this line up--"Me vampire!"1:27:53--Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I am vibrating internally at this point.1:29:04--He runs into a wall. That's always funny enough, but then Cage's character starts a lengthy conversation with it. Touching stuff.1:30:57--Another actor laughs at Nicolas Cage's performance.1:32-59--Channeling Keanu--Whoa! Nosferatu as a skateboard punk?1:35:09--"Born in Philadelphia"? What?1:36:00--A "conversation" with Sharon--wow. The mannerisms. The voice. This is tragic, comic, and hallucinatory. I have urinated in my pants at least two times and didn't even realize it.Last line--Ohhhh! I cry uncontrollably, stuff myself into a mini-fridge for an hour, and emerge again to start the movie all over again.

4 comments:

Yeah, this is probably my favorite Cage performance ever. Mainly because it happened before Cage became famous for such acting.

As for the accent, there is some trivia on IMDB about that very thing.

"Peter's strange accent is supposed to be a fake accent used by the character because he thinks he sounds more "elegant" and "smarter" (hence the literary agent job). The accent comes and goes throughout the movie and is more prominent when trying to impress people, and less in scenes with people like the psychiatrist."

If thats true, its a bold decision by Sir Nicolas. It seems to work too, since you noticed it so much.

For me the best parts of this movie are his interactions between his character and Maria Conchita Alonso. Every moment between them is comedic gold, and also highly disturbing.

The funny thing about this movie is, I originally rented it, way back in like 1989, because it had Jennifer Beal in it, and I had not seen her in anything since Flashdance, and like all other naive young men of the day, had a tremendous crush on her. Its interesting that all these years later, you dont even mention her in your review, and frankly her part is completely invisible when compared to Cage.

A 16 from me...its highly entertaining and very original.

Have you noticed that Season of the Witch has just come out on DVD and Blue Ray? It certainly looks like another out of body experience with a Cage film. Hopefully you can review these films at a faster rate than Cage is making them.